1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to archery equipment and more particularly to an improved archery arrow draw check, customarily called a clicker.
2. Prior Art
Various types of archery draw checks have been employed in the past to signal to the archer the position of the arrow point relative to the bow, i.e. how far back the archer has drawn the arrow on the bowstring. Obviously, the distance an arrow is drawn back on the bowstring will determine the impact point of the arrow on a target, once the drawn bowstring is released. In order to assure the exact same draw length from arrow to arrow, and thus improved accuracy, archers now commonly employ archery draw checks, most of which are of the so-called clicker type. A clicker is typically a bladed draw check adapted to be releasably flexibly positioned on the outside of the arrow shaft when the latter is on the arrow rest. The draw check is biased toward the bow window. Just as the arrow point is drawn back past the clicker blade, the blade snaps against the bow window, making an audible click and reflexively triggering the release of the bowstring. There are also some types of draw checks which depend on activation of lights, etc. to substitute for the audible click in signaling the archer to release the bowstring. Draw checks and clickers generally permit the archer to view the target uninterruptedly, rather than having to occasionally visually check the position of the arrow point during the process of drawing the bowstring, as in the case of the archer who shoots without such devices.
It is of some importance in precision shooting, particularly with a bow having a heavy draw weight or one close to the endurance limit of the archer, particularly upon long-continued shooting, to first have a preliminary signal that the arrow point is nearing the release point in its rearward travel, and then to have the actual release signal. Otherwise, the archer may inadvertently initially draw "short", due to fatigue, and then have to strain unduly to move the arrow point back past the release point. This is particularly true because during a tournament, certain of the draw muscles may tend to swell, physically impeding as long a draw as initially.
Moreover, the newest type of bullet-shaped arrow points contain no ring groove in which a single clicker blade can catch to signal the position of the point.
Accordingly, practice has clearly indicated the need for a two-signal clicker or draw check for precision shooting. Most such clickers are relatively heavy, expensive, and cumbersome, comprising two separate flexible blades, one in front of the other along the arrow draw path, so that the forward clicker clicks first and then the rearward clicker. Such blades are fixedly connected at one end to their support plates so that their forward and rearward position relative to the bow window cannot be changed, without detaching their support from the bow window and refastening it.
Accordingly, there is a need for an improved draw check which will provide the advantages of conventional two-signal clickers but which is less bulky and expensive and has improved adjustability, as well as improved signaling capability.